Railway-frog



N. W. BOYD.

RAILWAY FROG? (No Model.)

Patented Feb. 24,

. INVBNTOR ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES N. PETERS. PM a Lun UNirEn STATES ATENT OFFICE.

NATHANIEL W. BOYD, OF STEELTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAI LWAY-FROG.

EJPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 312,801, datedFebruary 24:, 1885.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NATHANIEL W. BOYD, ofSteelton, in the county ofDauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and ImprovedRailway-Frog, of which the'following holding the parts of the frogtogether and in proper position.

The invention also consists of the construction, arrangement, andcombination of parts, all as hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in' all the figures.

Figure l is a plan view of my new and improved frog. Fig. 2 is atransverse sectional elevation of the same on the line x m of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a plan view of a spring-rail frog made in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan View of the key end of one of thekey-bolts, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the keys.

A B represent the side rails of the frog.

0 represents one of the main rails of the track, or a continuationthereof; D, one of the main rails of the siding.

E E and E E represent the throat-blocks.

F represents the key-bolts, and G the keys.

The rails A, B, O, and D are all of the ordinary T form, and areseparated from one another. The rail 0 is made pointed, as shown at a,and is notched at one side with the notch b, which is undercut, asshown, and the siding-rail D is scarfed off, as shown at c, to fitagainst the rail 0, and it is beveled at its end, as at c, to fit in theundercut notch b, as shown clearly in the drawings,.and these rails O Dare riveted together by the rivets d, and thus form the tongue of thefrog. The rails A B are bent or curved, as shown, and are boltedtogether and to the rails O D by the key-bolts F, the throat or spaceblocks E E being placed between them to form the flangeways or throatsof the frog. The plain end of each of the key-bolts F may be made secureby riveting hot in the countersunk blocks or brackets H, as shown. Thekey end f of each key-bolt F is by preference made square, with the flatkeyway ff made therein to receive the flat key G; but they might be madeany other desired shape, the key always being made to correspond inshape to the shape of the keyway, and in the bracket I, which is placedupon the head f of the key-bolt, is formed the corresponding keyway orgroove j, which is about one-eighth of an inch in depth, and receivesthe inner edge of the key G, as shown' clearly in Fig. 2.

The key G may be made of iron,brass,steel, or any other metal, and itshould be made of a plate of metal one-half the thickness of the desiredthickness of the key, and this plate, to form the key, should be doubledor folded in the center of its length flat upon itself, and then taperedat its edges to the desired angle for causing it to exert sufficientdraft when driven in the keyway of the key-bolt to draw the parts of thefrog securely and solidly together. The throat-blocks E E are held inplace in the throat or flangeways of the frog by the rear key-bolt F andthe heads of the central rivet, d, as will be understood from Fig. 1,and the throat-blocks E E are held from forward movement by the forwardkey-bolt F, and from rearward movement by the offsets e 6, made in theadjacent edges of said blocks, which offsets reach over the pointedforward end of the rail C, as shown clearly in said figure.

In the form of frog shown in Fig. 3 the rear throat-block E is held inplace by the rearkeybolt F and rear rivet, d, while the block E is heldin place by the forward key-bolt F and the hook-shaped keeper J, whichis held in place by the key-bolt, and reaches around the forward pointedend of the rail C and forms a small abutment or stop to prevent theforward movement of the said block E, as will be readily understood fromthe drawings.

In building up the frog the keys G will be driven into the key-bolts Fas far as possible, which will draw the parts of the frog together, andthen-the open ends of the keys will be spread apart with a chisel orotherwise to prevent thekeys from receding orbecoming loose, and whenthe frog from use and wear becomes loose the track-men can force thekeys G with a hammer and spread the keys, as before, and thus take upthe wear and keep the frog always in good order.

By making the frog of T-rail iron it will be seen that the frog will bethe same height throughout as an ordinary railroad-rail, and can thus beplaced anywhere inthe track without cutting away the cross-ties, and bymale ing the frog of separate parts and bolting them together it will beseen that the frog cannot only be adjusted easily to take up the wear,but that it possesses a degree of flexibility which is very desirable.Besides, the frog is strong, cheap, durable, and practical, and can bemade with comparatively little labor.

I am aware that spacing-blocks have been notched to receive the pointsof the rails, and therefore do not claim such invention.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with the rails G D, pointed and bolted or rivetedtogether, of the space-blocks E E, side rails, A B, and bolts F,

the blocks E beingin front of the rear bolt and the blocks E in rear ofthe front bolt, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a railway-frog, the separate blocks E, held in place by one of thebolts F and one of the rivets d, substantially as described.

3. The blocks E, formed with the offsets e, for engaging with thepointed end of the rail 0, 5 substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

4. In a frog, the combination, with the rails thereof and the bolts F,of the blocks H, having countersunk openings, in which one end of thebolts are secured, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a frog, the key-bolts F, having key G, in combination with thebrackets I, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a frog, the key-bolts F, provided with the split keys G, incombination with t-herails ol' the frog, space-blocks E E, and theblocks H I, placed at the outside of the side rails, substantially asdescribed.

NATHANIEL W. BOYD.

Witnesses:

CLAY S'rnvnns, \VlLLis 0. LEE.

